The invention relates to a compact printer system able to print full-color, business card size documents from a device about the size of a pen. The system includes various hot-connectable modules that provide a range of functions. In particular the invention relates to a color conversion method for a compact printer system.
Reference may be had to co-pending applications claiming priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application number PQ0560 dated 25 May 1999. The co-pending applications describe related modules and methods for implementing the compact printer system. The co-pending applications are as follows:
Microelectronic manufacturing techniques have led to the miniaturization of numerous devices. Mobile phones, personal digital assistant devices, and digital cameras are very common examples of the miniaturization trend.
One device that has not seen the advantage of microelectronic manufacturing techniques is the printer. Commercially available printers are large compared to many of the devices they could support. For instance, it is impractical to carry a color printer for the purpose of instantly printing photographs taken with known compact digital cameras.
A compact printhead has been described in co-pending United States Patent Applications filed simultaneously to the present application and hereby incorporated by cross reference:
In one form, the invention resides in a method of converting, in an image processor, from a first tri-color space to a second tri-color space, said method comprising the steps of:
reading color components of pixels of an image stored in a first tri-color space;
performing tri-linear conversion of said color components from said first color space to said second color space by executing a single interpolation in each cycle; and
storing said converted color components in a specific storage location.
Further features of the invention will be evident from the following description.